Living large

Our family is visiting my folks in rural Nebraska this week, and there is danger of a winter storm that might strand us here. Thanks to high speed Internet access, I may not care. With strawberry rhubarb pie and the Swedish dessert osta kaka covered in lingonberries, I'm living large. I will try to rummage up a few servings of fresh produce in mom's holiday spread.

Putting off until tomorrow

An interim final rule was published in the Dec. 28 Federal Register that temporarily delays a continuance referendum for peach and nectarine marketing orders. The peach and nectarine committees of the marketing orders believed that the delay was needed to give time for the industry to judge whether recent amendments to the orders are effective. Other rules in the Dec. 28 FR dealt with cantaloupe grades and cranberry marketing order changes.

Mango of opportunity

Mangoes from Pakistan may soon enter the U.S. market. This strikes me as a reach, but I confess I know nothing of the attributes of the Pakistani mango v. Mexican mango or Brazil mango. According to this story, one issue that must be overcome is the long boat ride to the U.S., and the fact that air shipments are not economically viable. The fruit would be irradiated by
Pakistan Radiation Services in a facility expected to be ready by next March.

Wal-Mart flat?

This article talks about the challenges that Wal-Mart has had this year in growing its same store sales and the impact on its stock price. Included is some interesting perspective on the maturation of Wal-Mart's grocery business. It seems some of Wal-Mart's supermarket rivals in some markets have registered stronger same-store retail sales gains than Wal-Mart has achieved. Still, Wal-Mart's efficiency is its saving grace. The article noted Wal-Mart's average store generates far more in sales per square foot than the average Target store.
While Wal-Mart has its critics, one Southern California columnist put up a good defense of the chain here.

When good food goes bad

Another year-end retrospective from a Canadian journalist, this time with a headline "Don't Eat Your Veggies. " This article quotes the now familiar Doug Powell, food safety professor at Kansas State University cited frequently in food borne illness stories. Powell would be a great Q and A for The Packer. Powell makes a couple of points worth pondering. One, Powell said the most chilling words he heard all year was when an FDA official declared the California spinach supply was as safe after the outbreak as it was before. (In other FDA news, the agency gave its okay to cloned meat and milk.)
A Powell quote near the end of the story was reported as follows: "The first company to recognize the opportunity and assure consumers they aren't eating poop on spinach, lettuce and tomatoes and any other fresh produce, will make millions and capture markets across the country,"
I don't think marketing that message is a sustainable business model. I am curious to hear more from Professor Powell, and I'm sure we will.